Never Let Me Go

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Published: Vintage International, 2006
288 pages
 
It's really going to be difficult to write a review of this vague and super-mysterious book without giving away the whole thing, but I really want to get this out there because this is one of my favorite books I've read recently.  Told from 31-year-old Kathy's point of view, it is divided into three parts, which roughly represent her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
 
The bulk of the book is Kathy detailing her upbringing and schooling at a very private institution known as Hailsham, where children are raised in a boarding school-type setting by adults known to them as "guardians."  Hailsham has some strange rules and customs, but the children (including Kathy and her best friends Ruth and Tommy) are happy to accept and live with them.  Every couple of weeks, the headmistress of Hailsham comes and takes the children's very best artwork (poetry, paintings, sculptures, etc.).  Very proud of their creative endeavors, the children are mystified by this practice and always wonder why the headmistress takes their work and what she is using it for.
 
Kathy talks a lot about her relationships with Ruth and Tommy, Ruth and Tommy's relationship with each other, specific experiences from their childhoods, etc.  But what's most interesting about this book is the underlying plot that we only get very subtle hints at every couple of pages.
 
Through a whole lot of reading between the lines and a few direct clues, the position and purpose of the children at Hailsham is very slowly revealed.  One reviewer called this book "quietly disturbing," and I really can't think of a better way to describe it.
 
Once I started to figure out the mystery behind Hailsham, I could not put this book down.  I wanted more hints and more clarity, which Ishiguro is extremely stingy with.  It is heartbreaking, disturbing, and deeply moving.  At its heart, it is a realistic representation of how someone actually living in a dystopia might see the world -- no judgment, no hindsight, no foresight.
 
Anyway, I hope I gave away enough that people will want to read it but not so much that it will ruin the mystery.  I know at least my mom will read it, and I take solace in the fact that when she skips to the last chapter to figure out what's going on, she won't be able to figure it out.  #winning

Turn of Mind

Author: Alice LaPlante
Published: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011
307 pages

This book has been ALL OVER book review magazines, websites, etc. and I knew I had to read it as soon as I read the description.  It gets 4.5 stars (out of 5) in Amazon.com customer reviews, which is really outstanding for a book that also did extremely well in critical reviews.  I think what makes this book such a standout is the unique perspective (which critics love), combined with the thriller-type story line (which non-critical readers love).

The perspective is unique because it is a first-person account of someone with dementia.  Dr. Jennifer White is a (formerly) prestigious hand surgeon afflicted with Alzheimer's.  She has good days, where she knows who and where she is, and she has very bad days, where she gets confused and runs away, violently lashes out, and gets depressed about her failing mind.

It is slowly revealed that Dr. White's best friend Amanda was found murdered in her house with some of her fingers surgically removed, and Dr. White is the primary suspect, for obvious reasons.  On some days, Dr. White has barely any recollection of ever even knowing Amanda, but on other days the reader is given hints into Dr. White and Amanda's sometimes rocky and volatile friendship.  Some other key players are Dr. White's children, a son and daughter, who go back and forth between being supportive or overbearing and at times trying to take advantage of Dr. White.

At its heart, this is a mystery book that puts the reader in a sometimes very frustrating position because you have to follow along with a story that comes from a diseased mind.  Dr. White's reality changes from day to day, and bits of the mystery are revealed very gradually in between her "bad" days.  This book would not have been the same if it followed a typical third-person narrative style, and I think LaPlante did an incredible job of putting the reader in the mind of an Alzheimer's patient.

Overall, I think this is a book most people would enjoy.  It's a really quick read, and very different from the typical third-person mystery narrative.  If you're looking for something to read and you don't want to feel like you wasted your time reading a book that you hated, this is a pretty sure bet.